Bureaucratic delays stall delivery of Lithuanian drones to Ukraine
Thousands of drones manufactured in Lithuania and intended for Ukrainian armed forces have been reportedly stuck in storage due to bureaucratic hurdles, as outlined by LRT. According to the report, these drones were supposed to be delivered by the end of last year but have remained "gathering dust" in Lithuanian warehouses. Thomas Milašaustas, head of a company supplying drones to Ukraine, mentioned that some units were delivered in October and November, yet there's still no information confirming the transfer of the remaining UAVs to Ukrainian forces.
Producers claim they have not been updated on when Ukrainian operators will be trained to use these drones. "The bureaucracy is such: the drones are in storage, the Defense Resources Agency needs to formally hand them over to the military, and then the government must decide on delivering them to Ukraine. Following that, they must be transported there... It requires concerted effort at each step to accelerate the process," said Laurynas Kasčiūnas, former Minister of National Defense of Lithuania.
The politician highlighted that delays at any point cause setbacks in the overall delivery. Drone manufacturers stress the importance of expediting the equipment transfer to mitigate Ukrainian losses. Hedrimæs Egalinskas, head of the main parliamentary committee on national security, argued that this situation could be a "litmus test" for revising processes in the country. He further emphasized that the drones, crafted to the newest standards, are much needed by the Ukrainian military.
The Lithuanian Ministry of Defense announced plans to deliver the drones to Ukraine soon, with new measures shortening the supply chain being enacted recently. "The decree stipulates that if state property is procured for the needs of another country with government-allocated funds, then re-evaluating the matter by the government is no longer necessary... From now on, we'll begin transferring assets to Ukraine under these revised procedures," reads the ministry's report.